MacTech Blog

Oct 11

As for the Mac, let's get Siri-ous

Perhaps the most gotta-have-it feature of the iPhone 4S and iOS 5 is Siri. Let's hope it comes to the Mac.

Siri on iPhone 4S lets you use your voice to send messages, schedule meetings, place phone calls, and more. Apple says that you can ask Siri to do things just by talking the way you talk. I haven't tried it, but Apple says Siri understands what you say, knows what you mean, and even talks back.

What differentiates Siri from competing technologies is its ability to not only recognize words spoken in a normal tone of voice, but its capacity to pick up on the contextual meaning of a phrase. It looked great during the demo at Tuesdasy's "Let's Talk iPhone" event, but then demos at such events usually do. (You can see a video at http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/siri.html .)

Apple has been granted three patents by the US Patent & Trademark Office. Following is a summary of each.

Patent number 8036894 is for a multi-unit approach to text-to-speech synthesis. Per the patent methods, apparatus, systems, and computer program products are provided for synthesizing speech. One method includes matching a first level of units of a received input string to audio segments from a plurality of audio segments including using properties of or between first level units to locate matching audio segments from a plurality of selections, parsing unmatched first level units into second level units, matching the second level units to audio segments using properties of or between the units to locate matching audio segments from a plurality of selections and synthesizing the input string, including combining the audio segments associated with the first and second units. The inventors are Matthias Neeracher, Devang K. Naik, Kevin B. Aitken and...

RIM's server network has crashed and is currently out of service in much of the world. It is unknown how long RIM phones and devices will be out of service. RIM runs its phones through a unique system that encrypts data for security reasons and thus there might be some complications with that. Only RIM devices are affected.

As the news of the RIM service disruption are in the tech news, another interesting statistic has just come out. News reports are that Apple sold 200,000 iPhone 4s units in the first 12 hours they were available online, as pre-orders. Actually, that has been revised today to at least 1,000,000 iPhone 4s sold in the first 24 hours.

To put that in perspective, RIM sold into the retail channel 200,000 PlayBooks in the first quarter they were on the market. That is not sold retail to consumers, as is the one million Apple iPhones, it is 200,000 PlayBooks sold wholesale to stores. While RIM tablet...

Photobucket Corp. (http://www.photobucket.com), a dedicated photo and video sharing service, says that video uploads from mobile devices are on the rise, based on results from the company's 2011 Summer Photo Usage survey.

Responses from more than 2,500 survey participants, as well as data garnered from Photobucket’s 100 million users and their nine billion image uploads, helped to illustrate the current attitudes and habits of those capturing photos and videos this summer. Among the findings are that video uploads are increasing rapidly on web and mobile platforms, and the lack of centralization in online photo storage continues.

According to the survey, consumers are using traditional video cameras with much less frequency, but they are using mobile devices to capture video much more often. In fact, of those surveyed:

Apple finally condescended to grant Sprint the iPhone in a deal that rocked Wall Street. Sprint is betting the farm that selling the iPhone will pull the third string US carrier out of the dumps and back into the big time. Apple and Sprint both seem to be quite confidant that simply having iPhones available for its customer base will turn the company around.

That might be true if the company lasts that long. Sprint is stone broke and mismanaged, running in all directions at once. They need a firm hand at the helm and don't have one. Making an agreement with Apple to buy 30,500,000 iPhones over the next four years at a cost of US$20 billion is rather rich considering the current market cap for Sprint is only $7 billion. Not only is the Apple deal too rich for Sprint, they recently announced that they intend to build out a new LTE G4 network that will cost them money they just don't have. Confidence in Sprint's management is the problem...

Apple has clearly revolutionized the cellular phone industry since the iPhone 1 was launched. In the past, the cellular carriers had all the power and the hardware manufacturers like Motorola, Nokia and RIM simply sold handsets to them and got the best deal they could. Cell phones were manufactured to please the networks first and then the customer who would use them. Exclusives on certain handset models were common.

Three companies pretty much owned the cellular handset business not that long ago. Now, all three of those giant handset makers are in a desperate race to catch up or die in the race to provide smartphones that can compete with the iPhone. The dumb phone market is collapsing rapidly as contracts expire on old cell phones or their batteries die. People want to move up to a smartphone.

The recently reveled make-or-break deal Apple made with Sprint shows how much things have changed. Apple simply doling out iPhones or...

Remember the "Think Different" ad campaign Apple launched in 1997? It was one of the most brilliant ad campaigns ever conceived -- and I'd love to see a one-off revival to honor Steve Jobs.

The "Think Different" slogan was created by the Los Angeles office of advertising agency TBWA\Chiat\Day. It was used in a TV commercial, several print advertisements and a number of TV promos for Apple products. Shortened versions of the text were used in two television commercials, known as "Crazy Ones," which had a voiceover by actor Richard Dreyfuss. (There was also an unaired version featured the voice of Jobs himself.)

An Apple patent (number 20110246787) has appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office that involves obfuscating transformations on data array content and addresses.

Per the patent, in a first computer (digital) data obfuscation process, data which is conventionally arranged in a data structure called an array (e.g., a table) and conventionally stored in computer or computer device memory is obfuscated (masked) by logically or mathematically combining the data, entry-by-entry, with a masking value which is computed as a logical or mathematical function of the entry itself or its index in the array, modulo a security value.

The complementary unmasking value is a pointer to the entry's address in the table modulo the security value. In a second computer (digital) data obfuscation process, the addresses (location designations) in memory of a data array are themselves obfuscated (masked) by partitioning the array into blocks of entries and shuffling the order of the...

As noted by "AppleInsider" (http://www.appleinsider.com) one of the last patents to bear Steve Jobs' name (along with Timothy Wasko) as inventor was patent number 201000281415 for a "three state icon" for a computer.

A three state icon for a computer is disclosed. The icon prevents inadvertent starting of an operation on a computer. Per the patent, the icon has a first state that conceals a second state. Upon selection of the first state with a computer pointing device (i.e., mouse), the icon will change to the second state.

Upon selecting the icon in the second state, the operation on the computer will start. Accordingly, only upon selecting the icon in the first state and then the second state, the operation will commence on the computer thereby preventing accidental startup of the operation. Once the second state has been selected, the icon will change to a third state which indicates...

An Apple patent (number 20110246891) has appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office for pushing a graphical user interface to a remote device with display rules provided by the remote device. In other words, Apple is working on ways to beef up the remote control abilities of iOS devices -- and incorporate new abilities along these lines.

The invention relates generally to accessories for portable media devices and in particular to allowing a portable media device to provide a user interface for controlling the media device to an accessory. Per the patent, a graphical user interface ("GUI") can be presented on a remote control accessory device that has user input and display devices. The portable media device can provide the accessory with a GUI image to be displayed. The accessory can specify the configuration of the remote GUI image and send that information to the portable media device.

Steve Jobs drew strong opinions about himself and his ideas. He knew what he knew and come hell or high water, he stuck to his opinions. The taste and marketing wisdom he espoused led entire industries that correctly followed his lead or suffered for it. Confidence based on true genius has great value, and Apple is the result of a series of Steve's visions that resulted in "insanely great products" and the world's most valuable company.

Steve Jobs learned the concept of focusing on a few important things and letting the mundane issues take care of themselves with crisp detailed orders to subordinates. Reportedly, you made Mr. Jobs repeat himself to your own injury. He didn't suffer fools very well.

The flap over the recent "disappointment" over the iPhone 4S was, in my opinion, subconsciously in the public mind due to not having been pitched by Steve Jobs. Steve could have said, "If you think iPhone 4S is no big deal, consider...

On Sept. 27 I listed (http://macte.ch/IRxgk) some of the features I wanted to see in Mac OS X 10.8. Robert Meyers had some interesting feedback on my ideas that I'd like to share with you.

I wanted an expanded Disk Utility that can optimize and defrag Mac volumes. However, Rob says Apple doesn't see the need for optimizers/defrag utilities (see http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1375). So don’t expect to see this feature built into Disk Utility any time soon.

I asked for the ability to start up from a Time Machine back-up and carry on working, like we can when using SuperDuper! and Carbon Copy Cloner. In other words: system cloning. Rob disagrees.

"Yes, Apple should provide an easy way to clone a system be it from another hard disk drive, a Time Machine backup, or even a different computer," he says. "However,...

The Apple rumor mill, which we at MacTech contribute to, tends to build expectations for Apple product launches that sometimes go over the top. Had Apple called the iPhone 4S the iPhone 5, there would have been a very bad buzz in the press that the update was insufficient to get the name iPhone 5. The rumors that seek to fill the information void that Apple intentionally creates, generate expectations that each product launch is the end all, do all electronic bunker-buster of all time.

Sometimes, technology in chip development, for example, holds up an Apple product. Some analysts are speculating that the LTE G4 chips available today are just too big to fit the iPhone's slender form factor. Cost is also a consideration when you are planning on building 75 million of anything. Apple has gross margins to kill for, just ask any competitor forced to sell things at a loss to be competitive with them.

Apple held its "Let's Talk iPhone" event yesterday, so here are some random thoughts on what transpired -- and what didn't.

New CEO Tim Cook and the gang (Scott Forstall, Eddy Cue and Phil Schiller) did a fine job at the presentation. They showed that you don't have to have Steve Jobs (still the ultimate showman) to put on a gee-whiz event, especially when you divvy up the duties among such a talented bunch of Apple execs.

My crystal ball was a bit cloudy. I predicted an iPhone 5 with built-in voice technology, and perhaps a 4-inch screen and beefed up camera. The revamped iPhone was dubbed the 4S and does have built-in voice technology and an enhanced camera, but retains the 3.5-inch screen.

I predicted there would be no low-end, contract-free iPhone. There's still no contract-free Apple smartphone. However, the iPhone 4 will also be available for US$99 and the iPhone 3GS will be available for free with a two-year contract.

Apple has been granted three patents by the US Patent & Trademark Office. Following is a summary of each.

Patent number 8032181 is for a server provider activation with subscriber identity module policy. Systems and methods for activating a mobile device for use with a service provider are described. In one exemplary method, a mobile device having a currently inserted SIM card may be prepared for activation using a signing process in which an activation server generates a signed activation ticket encoded with SIM policy data that corresponds to the combination of the device and one of a number of SIM cards belonging to a set of SIM cards defined by the SIM policy data.

The activation ticket is securely stored on the mobile device. In another exemplary method the mobile device may be activated in an activation process in which the device verifies an activation ticket against information specific to the device and SIM card in accordance with the...

The high tech miracle, a true cosmic wonder (pictured in the brown jacket), has officially been rendered obsolete. Actually, the high tech wonder on the right is the now obsolete item, Microsoft's Zune Music Player. Bill Gates, also wearing a brown jacket, shown on the left, is still alive and doing his best to spend his money well, as Ballmer is doing his best to run Microsoft further into the ground. I wonder if Gates will relent now and allow his kids to own an Apple iPod now that the Zune is dead?

The history of Microsoft's Zune is similar to a street with so many pot holes the notion of it ever having been blacktop is long forgotten. The Zune was to be the Microsoft carbon copy of Apple's iPod and allow Microsoft to make a lot of money selling Zunes and music on-line. The Zune never really took hold in the market place. Microsoft could clone the electronics, but not the Steve Jobs sizzle, the chemistry that made everyone want an...

Hewlett Packard appears to have taken comments made here last month seriously enough to take defensive measures. But let's be realistic.
First, changing CEOs at this juncture (nearly 50% share value lost) is like tossing a single sandbag into the raging torrent pouring through a broken dyke.

Second, hiring Goldman Sachs Group to plan a takeover prevention strategy is a whistling in the wind. As the Spy said, they have transformed themselves from predator to prey. What remains to be seen once the various interested parties have done their due diligence is whether the takeover attention will come from a turnaround specialist, a breakup artist, or someone in the industry for whom the technology, talents, and patents have residual value.

Third, when you are but reactively defending against the consequences of your own errors and failures, you tend to create more new problems than you fix old ones.

A recent Cisco Systems survey found that video systems and interaction are taking an increasingly larger portion of a person’s day and overall life.

Workplace chaplains employed by Marketplace Chaplains USA are finding that while everything is changing, becoming more efficient and moving faster, some things don't change. Personal chaplain interaction with employees is the best solution for helping each one with the many personal problems hindering workplace progress and efficiency.

In the Cisco survey, Senior Vice President Marthin De Beer, said most people and employees use video technology to access essential and professional services.

"Video is happening and it’s happening today," he said in his report. By comparison, more than 2,500 Marketplace Chaplains in 43 states serving more than 2,400 client locations report most employees still seek out chaplains for face-to-face discussions about the hurts, joys and hopes of life.

As I write this Sunday morning early, all the Apple news sites and a lot of regular news sites are running leaked information about the iPhone launch, scheduled for Tuesday. The normally tight new product security has been breeched by even Apple in a couple of ways. What seems clear is that Apple is moving to capture greater market share with more cellular carriers to be offering iPhones and with both a lower end and higher end offering. The iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 appear to be the two new iPhone models to be announced Tuesday.

There are two main markets the cellular carriers all support. They call the two plans "post-paid" and "pre-paid." Generally, the post-paid segment is the cream of the crop and the real money for the networks. This is the plan with a contract, generally for two years, where you get a red hot deal on a phone, or a free cell phone in exchange for signing up. With iPhones, you just pay a portion of the cost of the...

A new rumor underscores what I've suspected for some time: the iPod classic and iPod shuffle are coming to an end.

The former -- though the very best value in iPods (160GB for US$250) -- uses a hard disk drive -- and Apple's current, true love in storage is sold state drives. As for the shuffle, it's basically an iPod nano without a screen.

I'll miss the iPod classic. It bears the most resemblance to the original iPod. It goes back about 10 years and has seen six generations. So take a bow, iPod classic, you've served us well.

As for the iPod shuffle, I've never owned one and never seen the point. I like my digital music players to have screens, so I can have more options. The shuffle debuted in 2005 and has gone through four generations.

If you're a shuffle fan, feel free to scoop some up before (assuming I'm right) they disappear. As for me, well, sorry, iPod shuffle, but I hardly knew you.

Rumors that RIM is pulling the plug on PlayBook and letting hundreds more employees go have been denied by RIM. Collins Stewart analyst John Vinh thinks the PlayBook is about over. He wrote that RIM has “stopped production” of the tablet and is “actively considering” getting out of the tablet market. This rumor was supported by those in the know in Asia, so there must be something to the rumors ...

However, rumors aside, prices for RIM's PlayBook at Best Buy have been cut again, down from US$499 to $399 to $299. The latest cut was to respond to the Amazon Kindle Fire that will sell for $200. It is thought Amazon will lose about $50 each on every Kindle Fire they sell.

You don't cut prices on products that are selling well. You cut the prices to unload soon to be discontinued products. (See...

Patent number 20110238699 at the US Patent & Trademark Office shows that Apple is working on head-to-head comparison features for its online stores.

The invention provides a comparison of a set of similar items includes: receiving from a first member of an online community a selection of a stored prior comparison created by another online community member of a set of similar items; providing to the first member a template for the comparison, the template being at least partially pre-populated using data from the stored prior comparison created by the other online community member; and receiving from the first member a submission of the comparison, wherein the comparison includes one or more modifications as made by the first member to the template. The inventors of the patent are Kenneth N. Chang, David A. Koski, Pedraum R. Pardehpoosh and Ralph E. Zazula.

Here's Apple's background and summary of the invention: "In the context of online stores, a user or...

Apple is working on a control system for video processors that selectively control the operation of motion stablization processes, per a new patent (number 20110234825) at the US Patent & Trademark Office.

According to the invention, motion sensor data indicative of motion of a mobile device may be received and processed. A determination may be made by comparing processed motion sensor data to a threshold. Based on the determination, motion stabilization may be suspended on select portions of a captured video sequence. The inventors are Yuxin Liu, Xiaojin Shi, James Oliver Normile and Hsi-Jung Wu.

Here's Apple's background and summary of the invention: "Video stabilization is a class of video processing that removes unwanted shakiness from videos captured from portable camera devices such as smart phones, personal entertainment systems laptop computers and/or camcorder. The goal of video stabilization is to revise an original video sequence to mimic a sequence...

Apple is working on ways to lessen wireless interference on devices such as the iPhone, per a new patent (number 20110237246) for "Wireless Interference Mitigation" has appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office.

The patent involves mitigating interference in a mobile wireless communication device by using an estimation of the performance impact of interfering signals generated by a wireless cellular transmitter and received by a co-located wireless local area network receiver. Wireless local area network frequency band usage is modified based on the performance impact estimation and the state of the wireless cellular and wireless local area network connections.

The estimation accounts for properties of the wireless cellular transmitter and wireless local area network receiver as well as operational characteristics of the wireless cellular and wireless local area network connections. Indranil Sen is the inventor.

A new Apple patent (number 20110238887) has popped up at the US Patent & Trademark Office, showing that Apple is working on a hybrid drive that combines hard disk drive (HDD) and flash memory elements.

Per the patent, a hybrid storage device that includes a hard-disk drive and a flash memory is described. When control logic in the hybrid storage device receives a request from an external device to write a block of data to a logical address in a first portion of an address space that maps to the HDD, the control logic writes the block of data to the HDD.

However, if there is a change in environmental state information of the hybrid storage device during the write operation, the control logic writes at least a portion of the block of data to a logical address for the block of data in a second portion of the address space which maps to the flash memory. Note that the address space may be common to the external device and the hybrid storage device. Khalu Bazzani is...

The web is loaded today with Kindle Fire news stories, some suggesting the dread iPad killer has landed ... Not really, not for a lot of reasons. A souped-up book reader that can also run a version of the Android OS, but has a small screen and lackluster features isn't comparable to the iPad.

As Steve Jobs noted, the smaller size screen reduces actual square inches of usable surface on an inverse squared. Smaller screen sizes were tested at Apple and rejected. Keep in mind, there are rumors that the new iPhone will sport a larger screen and sort of fill-that-gap in the product line defined by the Kindle Fire. I submit that the next direction screen sizes will go is up, not down.

Apple will also introduce retina iPad screens sooner than later. The higher resolution doesn't mean much until you compare regular TV to HDTV. Wow, what a difference it makes.

The common theory is that the iPad is killing personal computer sales. Actually, that doesn't seem to be the case. It's killing PC sales on some levels, but not Macs.

In fact, two CitiGroup surveys conducted November, before the iPad 2 was released, at least hints at the possibility that tablet popularity increases receptivity to other gadgets. In a November 2010 survey (before the iPad 2 was released) 3% of survey respondents said they owned a tablet.

In a new survey by Citigroup, that number jumped to 18%. Interestingly, computer ownership also jumped, from 62% to 81%. And smartphone ownership increased from 28% to 59%.

Instead of cannibalizing computer sales, the iPad may actually be making more folks more comfortable with technology. That means more Mac and iPhone sales.

Overall, I like Mac OS X 10.7 ("Lion"), but aside from having to re-learn gestures, which have gone "natural," the multi-display, full screen situation is a major pain.

Go full screen with an app -- and Apple has highly touted the full screen feature -- and a second or third display attached to your Mac goes kablooey. You just get an empty, gray linen-like background on all but your main screens.

This is something that Apple needs to address. I'm an iMac owner. What if I wanted to connect a 27-inch Thunderbolt display or two (yeah, like I could afford that)? Why can't I have three monitors with separate full screen documents?

The US Patent & Trademark Office has granted Apple a patent (RE42738) for a smart pen in regards to portable computers (think iOS devices and Mac laptops).

Per the patent, a portable computer arranged to rest comfortably in the hand has a small display screen. Accelerometers capable of detecting movement of the pen with respect to gravity provide input to a microcontroller which selects a response from a number of viewing modes. The pen may be held in either hand and the output message to the screen will be oriented according to the location of the pen. Full personal digital assistance functionality may be incorporated in a relatively small plastics casing and functions, such as calendar, contracts the like may be incorporated. Hillary L. Williams is the inventor.

Here's Apple's background and summary of the invention: "According to the present invention there is provided a portable computer including movement detection means responsive to movement of the computer...

Apple has been granted patents involves SRAM cells and distributed computers by the US Patent & Trademark Office.

Patent 8027213 is for a mechanism for measuring read current viability of SRAM cells. Per the patent, a mechanism for measuring the variability of the read current of SRAM cells on an integrated circuit includes the integrated circuit having an SRAM array including a plurality of SRAM cells. The integrated circuit may also include a selection circuit configured to select a particular SRAM cell in response to a selection input.

An oscillator circuit such as a ring oscillator, for example, on the integrated circuit may be configured to oscillate at a frequency that is dependent upon a read current of a selected SRAM cell during operation in a first mode. A frequency determining circuit that is coupled to the oscillator circuit may be configured to output a value corresponding to the frequency of oscillation of the oscillator circuit....

Android is turning out to be, as Steve Jobs likes to put it, "a bag of hurt," Not only are all the Android handset makers fighting Apple in courts and import agencies around the world, Oracle has Google over the barrel for intentionally using patented Java without a license. The intentional part will likely cost Google a bundle as Oracle has found a "smoking gun" set of email proving that Google, at the highest levels, knew and intentionally used Java in the Android OS without a license.

That a company whose intellectual property is infringed can get money damages is well known. That remedy is by far the most common outcome since money is the end product most companies seek from their technology. Apple and Oracle may take the less traveled road and simply demand that the infringing companies cease and desist from further infringement in the future, while collecting damages from past infringement. (See...

While the iPad and other tablets are hot Products, the expense of requiring separate mobile broadband plans for each device to connect to 3G or 4G services has been Prohibitive.

The Strategy Analytics (http://www.strategyanalytic.coms) recently examined the emerging trend to offer multi-device data plans to drive adoption of additional 3G and 4G connected devices. They found that, recently, leading mobile operators such as Rogers Wireless and Bell Mobility in Canada, Telefonica Movistar in Spain, Orange Mobistar and Proximus in Belgium have launched multi-device plans.

SFR France will launch an extra SIM option on one of its mobile data plans by end of summer. In the US, market leaders Verizon Wireless and AT&T have both said that they envision family data plans at some point in the near future.

“Our Strategy Analytics survey research shows that consumers with multiple...

Apple, having been stung in the recent iPhone tracking flap, has joined another industry group to lobby for better definition of privacy rights related to data on mobile devices, the cloud and ISP servers.

As electronic devices and modern miracles such as GPS have become mainstream, the old standards of what is private and what is public have become blurred over time. The constitutional right to privacy of our homes, papers and effects has become less clear, and the goal of the Digital Due Process Organization is to push for legislation that will clearly define the right of privacy vs the right of the government to search without a warrant. Go to http://digitaldueprocess.org for details.

While few of us would argue that anything ought to be private if a court orders a search warrant upon probable cause a crime has been committed, law enforcement tends...

MobileTrax (http://www.mobiletrax.com) analyst Gerry Purdy recently wrote an open letter to new Apple CEO Tim Cook, recommending that Apple change the name of iTunes to iMedia since they sell TV shows, movies and more, not only music.

That makes sense. But I think an even better idea would be to break iTunes into different components as it is on iOS devices. The software has become too bloated.

When iTunes was launched in 1999, it was a simple music player with the ability to do MP3 conversions. Now iTunes houses music, movies, shows, podcasts and audiobooks. It's the conduit to your iPhone, iPod and iPad. And it's a link to an online store for buying media. iTunes is no longer a properly descriptive name. iMedia is a good one, but I'd prefer the "break it up" approach.

A new Apple patent (number 20110225812) shows that Apple is working on all-in-one data and power cable that can charge and transfer files between iOS devices and Macs.

The "Power Adapters for Powering and/or Charging Peripheral Devices" patent includes a housing that contains electrical components associated with the power adapter. The power adapter also includes a data port provided at a surface of the housing. The data port is configured to provide external power to the peripheral device. The inventors are Daniele Deiuliis, Andrew Bert Hodge, Jeffrey L. Robbin, Stanley Car Ng, Eric W. Anderson and Anthony M. Fadell.

Here's Apple's background and summary of the invention: "The present invention relates to apparatus and methods for powering peripheral devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to improved techniques for powering and/or charging peripheral devices through a data transmission line.

Flummoxed means confused and bewildered, not dead. When Steve Jobs pronounced the iPad competition flummoxed, he said what he felt and he was right.

HP, formerly the most prolific PC box maker out there, threw in the towel on its Touch Pad, a Palm OS touch screen tablet, and, while they were at it, decided to get out of the PC business. Not only did the Apple iPad kill their mobile device entry, the Mac is killing the PC business as well. The stock for HP gyrated wildly into a downwards spiral and has lost 47% of its value over the short term of its just fired CEO, Leo Apotheker. (See http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-22/hewlett-packard-shares-reeling-... .)

Jonny Evans of "Computerworld" recently pondered (http://macte.ch/a5Gcj) whether an impending price war between computer vendors such as Acer and Lenova will hurt Mac sales. I don't think so.

"In truth, this is a game Apple's been fighting a long, long, long, long time. Apple's Macs have never been the cheapest on the market, and even that short-term commitment to a sub-$500 Mac with the Mac mini and (earlier) the education-only eMac did little to dissuade PC purchasers that the company's kit is pricier than most," writes Evans.

However, when it comes to the Mac, as with all Apple products, most folks are willing to pay a little more for better quality. Mac sales have increased at record rates even during this dismal global economy. During the 12 months that ended in late June, the Mac brand achieved an impressive 22.86% gain in revenue for a total of $20.38 billion.

While seamless device portability for high quality content has become the hallmark of successful digital media strategies, Ultraviolet -- a competing digital content and device ecosystem to iTunes -- must address a range of challenges if it's to drive meaningful consumer adoption, according to a new study from the Strategy Analytics Digital Media service (http://www.strategy.com).

The broadly-backed Ultraviolet initiative may struggle in the face of Apple dominance in the digital media content and device landscape, according to the research group. The question is: does Apple have a viable alternative? iTunes, in its present form, isn't. Apple and Disney aren't part of the Ultraviolet alliance and are purportedly teaming up for a competing solution called KeyChest.

“Given the scale of the challenges facing Ultraviolet it is just as well that the strengths and capabilities of its backers are the most...

A new Apple patent (number 8024322) for an ordered index at the US Patent & Trademark Office shows the company is eyeing ways to improve searching on a Mac through methods such as an ordered inverted index.

Per the patent, systems and methods for processing an index are described. A postings list of items containing a particular term are ordered in a desired retrieval order, e.g., most recent first. The ordered items are inserted into an inverted index in the desired retrieval order, resulting in an ordered inverted index from which items may be efficiently retrieved in the desired retrieval order.

During retrieval, items may first be retrieved from a live index, and the retrieved items from the live and ordered indexes may be merged. The retrieved items may also be filtered in accordance with the items' file grouping parameters. The inventors are Wayne Loofbourrow, John Martin Hoernkvist, Eric Richard Koebler and Yan Arryouye.

Apple has been granted a patent (number 8020762) for techniques and systems for supporting podcasting.

The improved techniques can pertain to creating, publishing, hosting, accessing, subscribing, managing, transferring, and/or playing podcasts. According to one aspect, a client application can subscribe to podcasts and then automatically monitor the podcasts for updates to be downloaded. In the event that user interest in a podcast becomes inadequate, downloading of further updates can be restricted. According to another aspect, a podcast can be subscribed to through use of a portable subscription file. According to still another aspect, podcast feeds can be enhanced to include segment elements and other metadata. The inventors are Anne Jones, Thomas Dowdy, Jeffrey Robbin, Mike Wiese and Stephen Davis.

Here's Apple's background and summary of the invention: "A media player stores media assets, such as audio tracks, that can be played or displayed on the media...

According to MacRumors (http://www.macrumors.com), Apple is working on building iMessage support into Lion's iChat instant messaging software. That only makes sense as it's a natural progression.

iMessage is a messaging service will be built into the upcoming iOS 5 , due this fall. You'll purportedly be able to send text, photos, videos, locations and contacts. You'll be able to do group messaging, track your messages with delivery receipts and optional read receipts, see when someone's typing, and encrypt text messages.

With the ongoing blending of OS X and iOS, iMessage support on the Mac seems inevitable so Mac users and Lion users will be able to send "imessages" to each other in real time.

I also hope Apple gets around to "opening up" FaceTime. FaceTime is a video calling app that lets you communicate between Macs, iPad 2s, iPhone 4s and iPod touches. It was supposed to be a...

Apple has been granted a patent (number 8022571) relating to power management circuitry and solar cells. The patent is directed to methods, systems, and apparatuses for implementing circuitry that can be used to control multiple solar cells to generate power for a portable electronic device.

For example, in response to determining that one or more of the solar cells is generating a reduce voltage output (e.g., due to a partial obstruction of one or more of the solar cells), the connections among the solar cells can be configured to generate a constant preset voltage, as long as a subset of the solar cells is operating. The voltage generated by the solar cells can then be boosted to a value suitable for powering the portable electronic device and/or any of its individual components.

As another example, the connections among the solar cells can be configured to generate a startup voltage to directly power the portable electronic device and/or any of its components....

An Apple patent (number 8024351) for a query result iteration has appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office. Systems and methods for processing an index are described.

Per the patent, a pulse in an inverted index refers to a group of items that do not occur in any other pulse in the index. When processing a query against an inverted index in which pulses are present, the query is processed against a single pulse. The end of the pulse is determined based on the characteristics of the pulse and the linked list nodes that comprise the postings lists from which the index was generated. In some embodiments, index updates are applied to the query result obtained from a single pulse to provide an efficient and up to date query result. The inventors are John Martin Hornkvist.

Here's Apple's background and summary of the invention: "Modern data processing systems, such as general purpose computer systems, allow the users of such systems to create a variety of...

The press, especially MSNBC, is loaded these days with glowing stories about Microsoft's Windows 8. I do not claim to be an expert on anything Microsoft, as I avoid their software like the plague. In my experience, OS X almost never crashes, but when it does go down, it is normally a Microsoft app that did it.

I have noticed interesting differences between Apple and Microsoft in their strategic approach to mobile platforms. That is the focus of this article.

Apple launched the iOS to support the iPhone. Modern mobile computers and smartphones require a robust operating system that can do the cell phone functions as well as run iPod, camera, GPS, web and apps. Built upon the fresh and clean iOS foundation they expanded the iPhone iOS to run on iPad as well. In the Apple world we have the Mac OS X which runs Apple personal computers and the Mac iOS to run mobile devices. Apple is betting that mobile computers will...

Interpret (http://www.interpretllc.com) -- an entertainment, media and technology market research firm -- recently released two Interpretations reports: "The State of Internet-Connected Living Rooms" and "Streaming Music: Will It Replace the CD and MP3?"

The "Living Rooms" report reveals that although Internet-connected devices in the living room have Proliferated to over half of U.S. consumers, they remain underutilized for TV and movie entertainment. For example, according to Interpret's New Media Measure syndicated study, only 22% of those who own a gaming console connected to the Internet have used it to stream a movie or TV show, and among owners of set-top boxes such as Apple TV or Roku, that number is even lower (18%). Obviously, Apple has a lot of catching up to do in this area -- and plenty of room for growth.

The "Streaming Music" report discusses the impact that streaming and "...

3D TV in homes has gotten a tepid reception, but Apple seems to have big plans for 3D technology. Patent number 8018579 for a 3D imaging and display system indicates that 3D manipulation may be part of future Mac OS X and iOS devices.

A three-dimensional imaging and display system is provided in the patent. Apple says that, despite all the current 3D solutions and technologies, there's a need for an "uncomplicated, economical, yet highly effective 3D input devices for computers."

Such devices need to be able to detect, analyze, and measure objects located in a 3D volume, and to observe and track motions (think Microsoft's Kinect technology for the Xbox). Apple is eyeing devices that would be designed compatibly for use with 3D graphically intensive activities.

They need to be capable of operating by optically sensing object or human positions, orientations, and/or motions. For reasons of cost as well as user convenience, they should be compact and capable of...

When electronics parts companies land a contract with Apple the business can be quite lucrative. Apple uses a significant supply of electronic parts of all types and demands the newest and best of everything. The wonderful news that you are now doing business with the largest company in the world is tempered with a contract that ties you in knots regarding secrecy, quality controls and details too numerous for this article.

One of the most important issues to Apple is secrecy. Working in a black box environment is critical for Apple to have an extra year or so before the copy cats reverse engineer Apple products and launch a "me-too" iWhatever.

Samsung, in addition to its line of retail electronics products, manufactures and sells an amazing variety of parts to Apple. The love/hate relationship between the companies is well known. On one hand, Apple likes the Samsung parts that make Apple products sparkle, but at the same time Samsung has abused its relationship with...

Dell KACE (http://twitter.com/#!/DellKACE) has announced the results from a new global survey of nearly 750 IT professionals on the effect that personal devices have on business demonstrating the growing "consumerization of IT" trend. And the survey shows some positive results for Apple.

Fifty-nine percent of those surveyed reported their personal devices have created the need for organizations to support multiple operating systems. What's more, 60% reported a greater demand for support of Mac OS X since the introduction of the Apple iPad and iPhone.

The survey finds that many (62%) IT managers feel they lack the necessary tools to properly manage personal devices. Conducted by Dimensional Research and commissioned by Dell KACE, the survey revealed 87% of companies have employees that use some kind of personal device for work including laptops, smartphones and tablet computers but are unable to effectively protect corporate data and intellectual property as well as...

Software Updates via MacUpdate

SpamSieve 2.9.27 - Robust spam filter fo...

SpamSieve is a robust spam filter for major email clients that uses powerful Bayesian spam filtering.
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VueScan 9.5.62 - Scanner software with a...

VueScan is a scanning program that works with most high-quality flatbed and film scanners to produce scans that have excellent color fidelity and color balance. VueScan is easy to use, and has... Read more

Fantastical 2.3.2 - Create calendar even...

Fantastical 2 is the Mac calendar you'll actually enjoy using. Creating an event with Fantastical is quick, easy, and fun:
Open Fantastical with a single click or keystroke
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PCalc 4.4.4 - Full-featured scientific c...

PCalc is a full-featured, scriptable scientific calculator with support for hexadecimal, octal, and binary calculations, as well as an RPN mode, programmable functions, and an extensive set of unit... Read more

Alfred 3.2.1 - Quick launcher for apps a...

Alfred is an award-winning productivity application for OS X. Alfred saves you time when you search for files online or on your Mac. Be more productive with hotkeys, keywords, and file actions at... Read more

OmniPlan 3.6 - Robust project management...

With OmniPlan, you can create logical, manageable project plans with Gantt charts, schedules, summaries, milestones, and critical paths. Break down the tasks needed to make your project a success,... Read more

Backblaze 4.2.0.990 - Online backup serv...

Backblaze is an online backup service designed from the ground-up for the Mac. With unlimited storage available for $5 per month, as well as a free 15-day trial, peace of mind is within reach with... Read more

AppDelete 4.3.1 - $7.99

AppDelete is an uninstaller that will remove not only applications but also widgets, preference panes, plugins, and screensavers along with their associated files. Without AppDelete these associated... Read more

Apple GarageBand 10.1.4 - Complete recor...

The new GarageBand is a whole music creation studio right inside your Mac -- complete with keyboard, synths, orchestral and percussion instruments, presets for guitar and voice, an entirely... Read more

Adobe Lightroom 6.8 - Import, develop, a...

Adobe Lightroom is available as part of Adobe Creative Cloud for as little as $9.99/month bundled with Photoshop CC as part of the photography package. Lightroom 6 is also available for purchase as a... Read more

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Leaks hint at Pokémon GO and Starbucks C...

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DietSensor, Inc., a developer of smart food and nutrition applications designed to fight diabetes and obesity and help improve overall fitness, has announced the launch of its DietSensor app for... Read more

Best Buy has dropped their price on the 64GB Apple TV to $159.99 including free shipping. That’s $40 off MSRP.
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Apple refurbished iMacs available for up to $...

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